Come What May
by Cee
Summary: The Andromeda crew goes to the planet Anovia to help prevent civil war. When Harper and the queen meet, Andromeda is thrown into a situation far more complicated.
1. Chapter 1

**Come What May**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or objects related with Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. The only payment I recieve for these stories are the kind reviews of readers.**

**Rating: R or M**

**Please do not archive this story anywhere else without author's permission.**

**Chapter 1**

**Nothing in the silver skyline of Anova's capitol  
city, Ardria, would indicate that the planet  
stood on the verge of civil war. **

Queen Allena Torayen was staring out from the  
balcony of her official palace, achingly  
searching for the peace she had once known. Today  
as with so many others of late, her heart was  
heavy. At the young age of eighteen, she had just  
inherited the throne to a crumbling kingdom. Her  
people were starving and riots were becoming a  
daily occurrence. She was already at her wits  
end, but this morning's events had pushed her to  
desperation.  
The day had started like any other. She met with  
the council and then went for a walk through  
Ardria's streets. As she and her royal guard  
turned the corner of a building, a single shot  
rang through the air filling it with the acrid  
smell of a charge blast.

Her bodyguards had thrown her to the ground  
immediately and formed a perimeter around her as  
chaos broke loose in the square.

The sniper continued to fire rounds into the  
crowd causing a panic.

The guards fired back, fanning out and moving  
from building to building in search of the  
assassin.  
Even after she had been smuggled out of the area  
and back to the palace, the gunfire continued. It  
had taken only moments for the assassination  
attempt to turn into a full out street battle.  
The local people hadn't hesitated to join the  
fight with whatever weapons they could find.

The gentle hiss of her chamber doors opening  
stirred Allena from her memories. From the sound  
of the oncoming footsteps, she knew without  
looking who it was that disturbed her. She  
inhaled slowly and schooled her features into a  
solemn mask to greet her prime minister.

"Milady, the culprit of this morning's attack has  
been apprehended," the aging man reported as he  
made a small bow. His shoulder length silver hair  
fell past the ear it was tucked behind.

"Prime Minister Krales, have there been any  
indications as to the reason for the attack?"  
Allena asked quietly as she continued to stare  
blankly into the horizon. " Do you think they  
have anything to do with the faction that killed  
my parents?"

Lenin Krales eyed the young queen, assessing her  
for a moment before answering. "Milady, your  
parents were killed over seventeen years ago. It  
is unlikely that these criminals have anything to  
do with the monsters that killed your family. My  
advice would be not to concern yourself with it.  
Every government has its malcontents. Most of  
your people are happier than they have ever  
been."  
Allena turned from the windows; her proud stance  
evaporating into one of extreme fatigue. Of all  
the people she had grown up with, Lenen Krales  
was the only one she would allow to see her in  
such an informal state. He was the only one who  
had been there through her entire youth. Krales  
was the nearest thing she had to a father. "I  
wonder where it is you hear of these happy  
people, for all the reports that I receive say  
otherwise."

"Dear Child, you are new to the world of  
politics. The people are like children and often  
children do not like what is best for them. In a  
few weeks all of this silly business will be  
resolved." The prime minister crossed the room  
and laid a reassuring hand on the young woman's  
shoulder. "I myself felt overwhelmed when your  
parents died and left me to act as regent in your  
name."

"It is not fear of ruling that cause this  
anxiety. I have been groomed for the throne  
since I was able to walk." She shook Lenen's  
hands away. "These problems will not go away on  
their own. We must try to contact the rebel  
leaders. Perhaps a peace treaty can be..."

"Allena, these rebels are not as other people.  
They crave bloodshed and will not rest until they  
have seen the end of your line." Lenen stared out  
the window for a moment before beginning to pace.  
"Now that you are of age, you must marry. If an  
heir can be produced, it makes their arguments  
for reform irrelevant."  
"I doubt that my marrying and having children is  
the answer. Besides whom would I wed? Such things  
do not happen overnight."

"There is a plan written in the Anovian charter  
for such times as these, but I..." Lenin stopped  
and turned from the queen, his face lined with  
worry.

She returned to the old man's side. "But what,  
Lenen?"  
"But I do not think you would agree to it."

"Tell me at least. I will do whatever is best  
for my people."

"Well, in the event that a suitable husband  
cannot be found, the queen shall marry the  
highest ranking noble." He paused, letting the  
silence lend his next statement a dramatic  
effect. "In this instance, the highest ranking  
noble would be...myself."

Allena stared at him in shock. A heavy silence  
weighted between them. Slowly the shock on her  
face gave way to an incredulous smile. "Don't  
worry, Lenen, I think we have another option."  
Gently Allena pat his shoulder. "This morning I  
received word that the ship Andromeda is nearing  
this system. Perhaps with the Andromeda's aid we  
can find a solution to all of this. That law is  
meant to be a final option. As of yet, we have  
not played all our cards."

For a moment the calm facade of Lenen's face  
shadowed. Then as quickly as the frown had  
appeared, it was once again concealed behind the  
enigmatic mask of his person. "But, Milady, it  
would be inappropriate to bring an outside party  
into this. It may only serve to further aggravate  
the rebels."

"On the contrary, I think a neutral party is  
exactly what we need." The young queen squared  
her shoulders and waited for the argument she  
knew would come.

"Your Majesty, I must protest..." Lenen began,  
before being cut off by a raised hand from  
Allena.

"I have already ordered it in council." Allena  
said as she looked defiantly into her prime  
minister's eyes. "I am queen now. I appreciate  
all that you have done for this kingdom," she  
paused and her expression softened, "and all  
that you have done for me, but now I must be  
allowed to run this government as I see fit."

Lenen's eyes narrowed imperceptibly and the  
corner of his mouth twitched.

Allena could see the conflict within him. She  
knew that it had been difficult for him to give  
up his position as regent, after all he'd spent  
the last eighteen years as ruler of Anova. The  
fact that the planet was in a state of extreme  
unrest had no doubt added to his concerns. Even  
now he was still trying to protect her from the  
harsh realities of their world. "You have been a  
faithful servant and friend for many years, now  
you must allow someone to care for you."

With those words Lenen seemed to relax. "As  
always, My Queen, you have shown that you are as  
wise as you are beautiful. I will go prepare for  
Andromeda's arrival." After a quick bow Lenen  
turned and left the room.

Allena watched as the doors closed behind him.  
She had been worried about this confrontation.  
With everything else going on, she knew that she  
needed Prime Minister Krale's support. He was  
after all one of the most influential members of  
the court and his followers were fiercely loyal.  
Without him, her dynasty would crumple from the  
inside out.

"Captain we are receiving a message from one of  
the nearby planets." The Andromeda's AI reported  
on one of the many screens that were located in  
Dylan's office.

Captain Dylan Hunt turned from the book he had  
been reading to look at the screen where  
Andromeda waited for his answer. After weighing  
the idea of taking the message on the bridge he  
sat his book down and straightened his shirt.  
"I'll take the message in Command." With that,  
Dylan stood and hurried to the bridge.

Even before he reached the command deck

Dylan could hear Harper and Rhade bickering.

Occasionally, Beka's voice would ring out over

threatening various forms of bodily harm if they

didn't stop.

"Whatever, Ûber, why don't you just go..?" Harper  
was cut off by Dylan

"Enough, Harper, Rommie on screen." Dylan ignored  
the two crew members who were currently starting  
daggers at each other and instead focused on the  
screen in front of him.  
A moment later, the image of a young woman with  
auburn hair, pinned up in an elaborate series of  
loops and coils, and wearing ornate blue robes  
appeared on the screen. From her dignified air,  
Dylan could tell that he was speaking with  
someone of great importance.

"Captain Hunt, I am Queen Allena Torayen of the  
planet Anova. I am contacting you under the most  
urgent of circumstances."

"Wow! What a hottie!" Harper whispered from where  
he stood gaping at the screen.

"Please, Queen Torayen, what are the  
circumstances?" Dylan asked before turning to  
give his crew member in annoyance. "Mr. Harper,

is there something of importance you wish to

address?" Harper snapped his half-open mouth

shut, shaking his head.  
The queen smiled slightly and nodded, her face  
revealing her relief at his willingness to hear  
her out. "Captain, my planet is on the brink of  
civil war. Assassins try daily for my life. I am  
afraid that without your help, our government  
will fall."

"I sympathize with your predicament but how can  
the Andromeda help?" Dylan asked, frowning  
slightly. He feared that her answer would be one  
asking him to use the Andromeda's weapons on the  
rebel factions. He didn't want to entangle  
himself in a civil war.

"I believe that is neutral territory could be  
found the rebels would be willing to meet and  
discuss terms to end all of this." The young  
woman paused and looked pleadingly at him.  
"Please, Captain, I understand your concern, but  
I assure you, my only wish is to avoid war."

Dylan smiled slightly in an attempt to comfort  
the young woman whose desperation was almost  
tangible. If as she said her only wish was to  
avoid war, then he was more than willing to aid  
her. But so many times, those who seemed  
innocent were more devious underneath. "Give me  
one hour to discuss this with my crew."

"Take your time, Captain." the queen nodded  
graciously, though her voice betrayed her  
impatience. "We will remain in contact." With  
that the screen went blank.

Dylan turned from the view screen slightly taken  
back by the abrupt end to the conversation. Still  
if the situation was as dire as the young queen  
had stressed, he wasn't surprised that she had  
forgone the niceties of conversation. Without  
further thought, he turned to address the crew.  
"Rommie, what can you tell me about Anovia?"  
"It's one of the top agricultural planets  
in this sector, as well as being known for its  
high yield in precious metals. Despite many

attempts, Anovia has never agreed to join the

Commonwealth."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Harper interrupted. "Who  
cares if they have nice gardens and can produce  
perfect metal? Anovia's true claim to fame comes  
from being one of the best vacation spots in the  
known galaxy. Not to mention all the babes."

After a disgusted glance from Rhade and several  
other members of the crew, Harper shut up.

"I seriously doubt we'll have vacation time,"  
Rhade commented, still looking at Harper

as if he were a bug to be squashed.

"Enough, both of you. Do we know how trustworthy  
the Anovians are?" Dylan directed at Beka hoping  
to get the conversation back on track.

"The Anovians are usually a very peaceful  
people." Trance entered the bridge, not missing a  
beat as she crossed to where Dylan stood. "If the  
queen says she want peace, then I believe we can  
trust her."

Dylan looked intently at Trance for a moment.  
Over the past years, he had come to learn,  
sometimes the hard way, that when Trance  
recommended something, it was best to listen.  
"Trance, why do I get the feeling there's more to  
this than meets the eye?"

"Captain, you know I can't tell you that." She  
looked at Dylan with the candid yet urgent  
expression that she used so often. She stepped  
closer to Dylan as Harper and Rhade began to  
argue again. "All I can say is that this mission  
will change some of us forever." Her glance  
strayed to the arguing duo.

After weighing his options, Dylan looked up. If  
there was something that could possibly get Rhade  
and Harper to give it a rest that he was not  
going to turn it up. Besides it was rare for  
Trance to be so revealing, obviously she felt  
strongly about this. "Beka, set a course for  
Anova. Rommie, open a channel to the queen."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harper shuffled around the engine room feeling sorry for himself. After contacting the queen and relaying that they would indeed act as mediators, Dylan had called him to his office. There Harper had been lectured about his inability to hold is tongue, and refrain from "improper comments". Now he was treated as if he couldn't handle even the simplest of tasks. What was worse is that they were headed toward one of the most beautiful planets in the sector and Dylan was refusing to give anyone shore leave.

"One comment about her royal highness's highness, and there go all my dreams of laying on white sandy beaches with a beautiful anovian babe rubbing oil on me." Harper grumbled, throwing aside a wrench. "Is it my fault Anova has a total fox for a queen?"

"No it's not, but it is your fault if you can't control what comes out of your mouth." Dylan stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Your little comment on the bridge could have been taken the wrong way."

Harper resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes he found life on Andromeda to be a bit too regulated for him, but still it had been the break of a lifetime and he wasn't about to throw it all away. "Look, I didn't mean anything by it." He threw up his hands in exasperation. "Besides she probably didn't even hear me."

"That's beside the point." the captain said, uncrossing his arms and coming the rest of the way into the room. "Harper, the point is that we're going into an already tense situation and we can't risk making things worse because you can't keep your mouth shut."

Harper looked to the ground and poked at a piece of wiring that lay at his feet. "Captain, I promise if you let me go planet side you won't regret it." Looking up Harper did his best to produce a beat puppy look. "If I spend another nano second in this engineering room, I'm gonna lose it."

Dylan watched the young man in front of him with an amused smile. Despite Harper's rather affronting nature and knack for getting himself and others into trouble he could always amuse him with his flare for the dramatic. "Calm down. I came here to tell you that after some rather convincing pleading on Trance's part, I've decided to let you come along. I'm hoping that if we handle this right, the queen will consider joining the Commonwealth. If that happens they may be willing to share technology." He paused for a moment. "I think it would be best that they had a chance to get used to your…quirks beforehand."

"Sweet!" Harper exclaimed, jumping up from where he'd been sitting. "Thank you so much!I promise you won't be disappointed, I'll be on my best behavior."

"Somehow, that doesn't comfort me." Dylan muttered under his breath, as he walked from the engine room, leaving a jubilant Harper in his wake.

As soon as the doors had closed behind him, Trance emerged from the shadows. "You did the right thing," she said, falling into pace at his side.

"You better have damned good reason for insisting he come along." Dylan stopped to face the golden-skinned woman. "If he can't control his mouth, then all of this might go up in flames." Before she could respond he charged ahead again. He was getting tired of putting u with Trance's half answers and riddles. He sighed as he heard her footsteps catching up with him.

"Captain, believe me, the future of the planet rests on this." This time she was the one to walk off without waiting for an answer.

"Of course it does." Dylan muttered as she disappeared around a corner. "Which is exactly what I'm afraid of."

Two days later the Andromeda drifted lazily in orbit around Anova. Even from space one could tell that the planet was beautiful. The oceans gleamed a perfect cerulean blue, while the land masses were perfect emerald greens and stone gray. Over all of this a lavender haze of clouds hung like foam over a calm sea. Everything about the planet radiated with a deceivingly peaceful air.

After some convincing Dylan had finally been able to get Beka to agree to let him take the Maru to the planet. While he entertained the bureaucrats, Rhade would search for the rebels and try to make contact. Harper and Trance would remain with Dylan.

The trip to Anova's capitol passed without event and soon they were disembarking from the ship to find themselves in a sunlit landing field, surrounded by flowering bushes. At one end there was an opening, where a tall statue of a marble-like stone stood. The statue was carved into the likeness of a middle-aged man atop a large animal, closely resembling the horse of ancient Earth. From the direction of the statue a group of officials were making their way to the ship. The array of fine fabrics and rich colors accentuated the wealth and air of dignity that seemed to radiate from the planet.

"Captain Hunt," a tall older man said as he came to stand before the delegation from Andromeda. "I am Prime Minister Lenen Krales. Let me be the first to welcome you to our world."

"Prime Minister." Dylan nodded, before turning to introduce his crew. "This is Trance Gemini, Telemachus Rhade, and Seamus Harper, our chief engineer. We're honored by your invitation."

Lenen Krlaes nodded politely as Dylan said each name, though his eyes remained cold and distant, power and snobbery dripping from his every movement. "If you'll follow me," he said curtly, "her Majesty is awaiting your arrival at the palace.." He turned without waiting for a response and signaled to the servants to carry what little luggage the crew had brought with them.

Dylan looked at Rhade as if to say, "It's their planet." Then he shrugged and followed the Prime Minister, who was already several feet away. As soon as he had caught up with him, the Prime Minister turned his head slightly, still bearing the superior sneer.

"We've made all the arrangements for you and your crew to stay in the palace until the rebels can be reached."

"Thank you for your hospitality. I'm sure we'll not need to impose on you for too long, Rhade has already made contact with the rebels. They seemed willing to hear him out."

"We shall see. Her Majesty is more optimistic than I am." Krales continued to look forward as he made this comment, giving Dylan the distinct impression that the prime minister was not happy about their arrival.

The remainder of the journey to the palace was made in silence and even if Dylan had sensed that the Prime Minister did not prefer quite, he would have refrained from speech. The planet's beauty was more than enough to occupy his mind at the moment. It seemed wherever you looked, your eyes were dazzled by gardens in a rainbow of colors. Many of the plants and flowers closely resembled those found on earth, though there was one that was found in nearly every garden that was quite unique. Its color could only be described as an iridescent blueish-lavender that reflected a dusky pink wherever the sunlight hit its delicate petals. The shape looked as if someone had crossed a rose with a Morning Glory. Dylan noticed that even Harper's eyes seemed to be drawn to them.

If they thought the gardens were beautiful, palace far outshone them. Its high walls and graceful parapets shone as if they were made with millions of tiny pearls, blended together in a flawlessly smooth shape. The roof was composed of light musky green stone shingles, and large fountains were placed sporadically around the well manicured lawns. Harper, who was rarely touched by such things, found his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

As they neared the shining silver gates, he began to feel anxiety growing like a lump that settled in his chest and blocked the air as he breathed. He knew that he was completely out of his element, like a common stone sitting in a pool of diamonds. Harper's hopes of feeling better once inside were dashed as he passed through the two ornately decorated doors that opened to reveal a massive hall. With each step he became more and more aware of how much he wanted to be back on the Andromeda, tinkering with his tools and inventions. The footsteps of their party echoed ominously through the room, reminding Harper of some kind of death toll.

His anxiety continued to grow until they reached a pair of silver doors, carved as though they were covered in ivy. The doors swung open slowly to reveal a large, elaborately decorated room, with a deep blue carpet running the length of it. At the end of the carpet Queen Allena sat upon a huge throne, silver backed, with royal blue cushions. Her long black gown was richly decorated and gave the illusion that she was taller than she was in reality. Atop her head was a crown made of gold and many red stones, so dark that they were nearly black.

Harper sucked in a ragged breath. The young queen was far more lovely in person than she had appeared on the viewscreen. He continued to stare quite unaware of the fact that Dylan was speaking until he heard his own name.

"….and this is Seamus Harper."

Harper jumped slightly, having been stirred from thoughts that were quickly becoming less than pure. He felt blood rush to his face as he smiled and nodded. Inwardly he berated himself for his lack of charm. Suddenly he felt as though every pair of eyes in the room were glaring down at him. He was sure that they could all guess what he had been thinking. Despite the urge to turn and run from the room, Harper forced himself to look up. Doing so, he was shocked to find that, despite the fact that the meeting had moved on, Queen Allena's gaze was fixed on him.

Trance watched the brief exchange between Harper and the queen. Inwardly, she allowed herself to relax slightly. The well being of this planet hung heavily on the relationships formed in this room. She only hoped that when the time came, the others would understand. She sighed, her shoulders beginning to tense again. There were so many directions these next few days could take, so few would lead to a happy ending.


End file.
